photo credit: E Online
The new year starts off with a bang with the return of Glenn Close’s Damages for its second season (it has already been renewed for a third). The show totally rocks (I’ve seen the first couple of episodes) and looks to be even better this season (if possible). William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden join the cast and Rose Byrne is back as Ellen Parsons the protege of Close’s Patty Hewes. Last season I thought that Byrne was the weak link, but this season she is angry and wants revenge against Patty for trying to kill her. I would want revenge too. But she is also young and honestly can’t go head to head with Close which is why I think they are bringing in Marcia Gay Harden this season. She surely can go mano a mano with Close.
The show works because Close’s character is amazingly complex and has more layers than an onion. Every time something happens that you think will rattle her, she just pivots (in her head) and regroups. What’s so fascinating to me is that as the character is written she takes on many of the characteristics of typical male leading characters. Deception, lying, murder… In the first episode of the new season James Naughton plays a rich guy about to donate a ton of money to a new foundation Patty is starting to placate her guilty conscience and says to her: “I’ve always liked you, you’re one of the guys.” To which she responds: “Except for the vagina.”
I really hope that the team working on this show doesn’t forget that she does have a vagina. I am all for complicated women, but I am really not looking for women playing men. I’m not that nervous about this show because I trust Close, but I couldn’t help and notice that the lack of women writers on this staff. Looking through the staff list there is only female co-producer (which is TV terms is one a couple of pegs above a staff writer) and not a single woman has a writing credit on any of the episodes. Also, there is not a single woman director for any of the 13 episodes. That’s just not cool, especially for this show.
Show premieres tonight at 10pm on FX
Damages
Playing Patty Hewes on ‘Damages’ toughens Glenn Close (LA Times)
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